Sour Cherry Pie
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Roll out larger piece of dough (keep second piece refrigerated) on a lightly floured surface or between sheets of waxed paper into a 13-inch round. Fit into a 9” pie plate. Refrigerate.
  2. Combine cherries with sugar, corn starch, salt, cinnamon, almond extract, and lemon juice. Let stand for at least 30 minutes to allow cherries to release their juices.
  3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees with the rack in the middle of the oven. (I also place a cookie sheet lined with foil on the rack to catch any juices that bubble over.)
  4. Roll out dough for top crust into an eleven-inch round.
  5. Toss cherries well again and spoon into shell that has been refrigerated, leaving most of the juices behind in the bowl to discard—or drink if no one is looking. (You don’t want to pour the cherries straight from the bowl or you’ll end up with a soupy pie and soggy bottom crust.) Dot the top of the cherry filling with the butter, if using. Cover with top crust pastry round. At this point, tear or cut off any overhang beyond about 1/2 an inch or so. Press or fold edges to seal, and crimp decoratively. Brush top of pie with milk or beaten egg, cut steam vents, and sprinkle crust with course sugar.
  6. Put pie into oven and bake for 20 minutes. Cover edges of pie with foil so they don’t burn (I hardly ever do this step), reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees, and bake until crust is deep golden and filling is bubbling in the center, 45-60 minutes more.